Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are two legendary players of the Indian national cricket team. The former player plays just one format for the Men in Blue, which is ODI, and Dhoni has retired from international cricket. But the franchise has continued playing cricket. The two will be seen together during the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
There has always been a debate between the fans of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli on who has a bigger fan base in India and around the world. Both the cricket legends have millions of followers, with several fan pages dedicated exclusively to them. Now former Australian captain Alyssa Healy has shared her views on the fan base debate.
‘It feels like a whole different level’ – Alyssa Healy
While talking on the show named ‘Willow Talk’, Healy has chosen MS Dhoni’s fan base as the best fan base in world cricket. He believes that Virat Kohli’s fans are limited to Bengaluru only, whereas Dhoni’s fans are all over the world and are the highest.
Alyssa Healy said, “Yeah, it is, it’s a completely different level. I think you’ve got Virat in Bangalore, and you’ve got MS Dhoni everywhere. I think it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, there’s always Dhoni shirts in the crowd, or there are hundreds of them.”
Here is the video
Question: Were you ever on the field when Dhoni came on the field? how was that?
Alyssa Healy : Yeah, it’s on a whole other level. I think you’ve got Virat in Bangalore, and you’ve got MS Dhoni everywhere else. This is the biggest fan base I’ve ever heard of. pic.twitter.com/XEaHFq7GmW
– Dhoni Trends (@TrendsDhoni) 4 March 2026
“And I don’t know if I pronounce it right, but the whistle podu that they have, and the CSK army, it’s the loudest thing you’ll ever hear in international cricket, and that’s in a home match. So it’s pretty amazing.”
Virat Kohli is a big fan of MS Dhoni
Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni have a brotherly relationship on and off the field. Dhoni groomed young Virat Kohli while the latter was appointed as Test captain in 2014, and then took over in all formats in 2017 and captained India for four years before stepping down from the T20I format in 2021.
MS Dhoni is the only captain to win all three ICC tournaments, which includes the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 2011 ODI World Cup and later the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. However, Virat Kohli failed to win any ICC trophy as captain and finished second on two occasions in the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) finals.
Despite MS Dhoni being away from international cricket, Kohli often visits the former Indian captain’s house whenever India plays a match in Ranchi. They were recently seen at Dhoni’s Ranchi residence around November 27, 2025, ahead of India’s ODI series against South Africa.
MS Dhoni practices in the nets ahead of IPL 2026
Both the cricketers were also joined by fellow players like Rishabh Pant. They enjoyed dinner, later Dhoni was seen taking Kohli back to the team hotel. Virat and Dhoni have been each other’s biggest fans on and off the field.
MS Dhoni has already joined the Chennai Super Kings camp for the IPL and was seen in an intense net session. However, Virat is yet to join the RCB camp, as the defending champions will look to defend their trophy.
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